On April 19th, the Chargers wrapped up the regular season with a 6-0 win in Corinth finishing with a 19-10 record. In the region, the Chargers finished with a 7-3 record in second place giving them the No. 2 seed in the upcoming MHSAA 7A playoffs making their 13th straight postseason appearance. In those 13 years, the Chargers have won two state championships with seven north half appearances.
Tonight the Chargers will play game one of three against the Germantown Mavericks at the Oxford Baseball Complex on the campus of Oxford High School. The Mavericks concluded their season with a 20-6 record and 4-4 in 7A-Region 2 finishing in third place. The Chargers and the Mavericks will face off again tomorrow night at Germantown High School for game two, and game three will take place on Monday if necessary.
Oxford Player to Watch:
#7 Senior IF Reid Kent: Whether it’s at the plate or in the field, Kent has shown his talent all season long. Kent has a batting average of 0.406 with two home runs, 39 hits, 24 RBIs and 15 doubles this season. Bouncing back from injuries last season, Kent has earned his spot in the lineup and will bring success to the Chargers in the postseason.
Germantown Player to Watch:
#3 Senior Drew Harrison: Harrison has been a key aspect to the Mavericks success this season leading the team in hits, home runs and batting average. Harrison has a batting average of 0.370 with four home runs, 27 hits and 15 RBIs this season.
Team Stats:
Germantown:
Germantown averaged 6.9 runs per game with 6.6 hits and a team batting average of 0.294 this season. They have scored a total of 179 runs this season with 150 RBIs and 189 total hits. The Mavericks have racked up 38 doubles and 11 home runs this season. The Mavericks are dominant at their home field going 12-2 this season at home and 4-3 away.
Oxford:
The Chargers have averaged 6.7 runs per game with 7.0 hits and a team batting average of 0.300 this season. They have tallied up a total of 184 runs with 208 total hits and 139 RBIs. With 55 doubles and 10 home runs this season, the Chargers have shown their talent at the plate this season. The Chargers are 11-4 at home this season and 6-5 in away games.
Common Opponents:
Both the Chargers and the Mavericks have each faced off against Lewisburg, Northwest Rankin and Arlington this season. As both teams were able to dominate Northwest Rankin and Arlington, the Mavericks fell to the Lewisburg Patriots 3-1. In the Chargers series against the Patriots, the Chargers won both games 4-2 in game one and 5-4 in game two.
A look at the 7A North Half:
Starting on the other side of the bracket, group one consists of the No. 1 seed Hernando and the No. 4 seed Tupelo. The winner of that series will play the winner of the series of group two against the No. 2 seed Starkville and the No. 3 seed Lewisburg. On the Chargers’ side of the bracket, the winner of Oxford and Germantown’s series will play the winner of the group three series against the No. 1 seed Madison Central and No. 4 seed DeSoto Central.
Prediction:
With a 39-18 record in the postseason in the past decade, I think the Chargers win game one at home by the final of 5-2. Then, I think the Chargers come away with a close one in Germantown by the final of 8-7 and advance to the second round of the playoffs.
